Air Plasma-Sprayed Yttria and Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings Subjected to Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate (CMAS)

Yttria (Y2O3) and zirconia (ZrO2) stabilized by 8 and 20 wt.%Y2O3 thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) subjected to calcium-magnesium-alumino-silicate (CMAS) have been investigated. Free-standing Y2O3, 8 and 20 wt.%YSZ coatings covered with synthetic CMAS slurry were heated at 1300 °C in air for 24 h in order to assess the effect of Y2O3 on the corrosion resistance of the coatings subjected to CMAS. The microstructures and phase compositions of the coatings were characterized by SEM, EDS, XRD, RS, and TEM. TBCs with higher Y2O3 content exhibited better CMAS corrosion resistance. Phase transformation of ZrO2 from tetragonal (t) to monoclinic (m) occurred during the interaction of 8YSZ TBCs and CMAS, due to the depletion of Y2O3 in the coating. Some amounts of original c-ZrO2 still survived in 20YSZ TBCs along with a small amount of m-ZrO2 that appeared after reaction with CMAS. Furthermore, Y2O3 coating was found to be particularly highly effective in resisting the penetration of molten CMAS glass at high temperature (1300 °C). This may be ascribed to the formation of sealing layers composed of Y-apatite phase [based on Ca4Y6 (SiO4)6O and Y4.67(SiO4)3O] by the high-temperature chemical interactions of Y2O3 coating and CMAS glass.